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06/23/2010 09:52:01 AM · #1 |
Why are lenses at all my local stores like $200 more than the online (amazon/bh/adorama) price?
The 25-105 f4L is $1050 online. My local stores wants $1250 for it.
Same with the 24-70 2.8L |
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06/23/2010 09:56:55 AM · #2 |
It really depends on the market... it's the same where I live, but if I drive to Chicago, I can get pricing very close to on-line. Some of the retailers that are brick & mortar only still believe they can charge a high premium and succeed at it. Good luck to them, I say.
I like to buy locally, and I will pay a 10% premium on something that costs a couple hundred dollars, but for a thousand dollar item, I really don't want to be penalized any more than 5%. If they are charging +20%, they will never get my business. |
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06/23/2010 09:58:30 AM · #3 |
| It's partly because B/M (bricks & mortar) shops have a lot more overheads (higher rent-staff etc) that an online shop that can operate out of a cheaper warehouse. |
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06/23/2010 10:05:20 AM · #4 |
It's all about profits really.
Your local store most likely order very minimal number of lenses, and does not get any bulk discounts. They also are selling to a smaller market, since it is only locals purchasing. They must mark the lenses up much much more to be profitable. They also most likely have higher rent, and pay employees more than a 'warehouse' type employee that most online stores probably pay.
Whereas a big online store, orders numerous of the same lenses as they expect them to sell, therefore most likely getting them a discount. They also sell to a larger market, some local stores don't even carry certain lenses. So, selling to a larger market, they don't have to mark their items up as much.
Example:
Local store pay $1000 for a lens
They mark it up 30% to make profit
This brings the lens to $1300
They expect to only sell 2, so only ordered 2 for $2,000
They make $600 assuming they sell both lenses
Online store pays $1000 for the same lens (maybe cheaper if they get a bulk discount)
They mark it up 10% for profit
This brings the lens to $1100
They expect to sell alot, they order 50 for $50,000
They only sell 47 of the lenses for $51,700
They profited $1,700 and still have 2 lenses to sell
When selling large quantities of anything even making $1 an item more than you purchased it adds up much more quickly than selling harly any items at a huge markup.
Message edited by author 2010-06-23 10:13:49. |
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06/23/2010 10:40:43 AM · #5 |
I'll buy online then. My G10 sold for more than I thought it would, giving me close to what I need for a 24-70 2.8L. I was originally going to buy the 24-105 f4L. Now I'm torn again. Damnit.
Message edited by author 2010-06-23 10:40:59. |
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06/23/2010 10:48:50 AM · #6 |
| I purchase a lot online, but if I have gone to the local camera shop specifically to look at a certain item, and I have received their help and time, I feel it is right to purchase it from them if I decide to buy it. However, If I've looked at it in a big box retailer where the salespeople don't know a lens hood from a UV filter, then I don't feel the same obligation. |
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06/23/2010 12:20:17 PM · #7 |
I have been told by a retailer or two that Canon, Nikon, and other manufacturers are pretty adamant about establishing the low end of the retail sale price to make it fair for everyone. They like to be able to help the small guys with shops that offer personal service who cannot possibly compete with places like B&H, Cameta, and/or Adorama. That's pretty much why you see such consistency at the low end with online sellers. If a brick & mortar shop decides they have to mark a lens up for whjatever reason, they just must be aware that the possibility of losing sales to online vendors is a reality. Why they would take the chance of losing customers is beyond me. Both the stores here in my area have pretty much established that they have enough return customers such that they're not interested in generating any new customers. I actually used to spend money both places but they've become so arrogant, and clearly do not pay attention to the fact that the online merchant can take care of customers without the customer having to leave the house. At the end of the spectrum that the accomplished amateur, and the professional, are with their general knowledge, the service that a camera shop can offer isn't as critical as someone who needs guidance for that first DSLR selection. So blowing those people off is a once and done proposition. I'll never return to either of the ones in my area because their short-sighted attitudes made me kick any interest in trying to keep a small, local shop in business comepletely to the curb. There used to be about six different camera shops in the area.......now there are two. I know there are an awful lot more cameras and photographers at all levels around now than there were fifteen years ago. Do the math......
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06/23/2010 12:22:49 PM · #8 |
| It is worth finding a local camera store (not a best buy or kits, etc) for certain things: for example, I bought a lens at the best one here, later had an issue. Had I bought it online, I would have had to ship it off to Nikon and wait. The local store said, since I purchased it there, that they would ship it off for me, and if I needed an equivalent lens for a shoot while I waited, would waive a rental fee so I could use one of theirs (not for the duration, but for the specific days I would need it). |
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